Table 1.

Eligibility criteria for inclusion of studies in the present systematic review and meta-analysis

Population	Healthy, term-born infants aged between 17 weeks and 3 years living in countries with a population comparable to Europe, generally affluent populations
Interventions	For infants between 17 weeks and 12 months: pasteurized milk of animal origin (e.g. cow’s milk, goat’s milk, ewe’s milk, mare’s milk), milk products of animal origin (e.g. cheese, yoghurt, whey), or follow-on formula with a nutrient profile conforming to the EU directive( 59 ). Studies exclusively studying infant formula were excluded; for infants from 1 to 3 years: pasteurized milk or milk products of animal origin
Comparisons	For infants between 17 weeks and 12 months: breast milk or infant formula; for infants from 1 to 3 years: follow-on formula. Studies investigating partially and extensively hydrolysed formulas were excluded
Outcomes	We focused on patient-relevant outcomes (intestinal blood loss, Fe-deficiency anaemia, dehydration, obesity, osteoporosis, failure to thrive, type 1 diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal diseases, atopic diseases), but also included surrogate parameters if patient-relevant outcomes were not available (Fe status, renal function, bone mineral content, anthropometric measurements, neurological development, stage of development)
Study designs	Randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, controlled prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case–control studies or other controlled studies (e.g. cross-sectional study with a comparison of at least two exposure groups)